Looking ahead to 2009…

Thanks to everyone for the kind words on the last thread. Yes, I read through almost the entire thread (can’t say I read every single word), but I’d be happy to serve as the tour guide for ITD posters. We’ll figure out a date early in ’09 and have everyone out to the stadium.

I’m curious to see what everyone would do if they were the GM of the team. Now is a great time to put your thoughts down for everyone to see so you can go back at the end of the year and see how it would have turned out. Of course, try to be realistic. We aren’t going to acquire Peavy for Kenley Jansen, so if you’re proposing a trade, think about the other team’s needs, the financial implications, etc. This is one of the most enjoyable times of the year, in my opinion. I hope I won’t get cited for tampering and don’t worry, Kenley, you’re not on the trading block (as far as I know). I just picked a name from our minor league system.

Anyway, I heard a quote last week that I think was really relevant to our team’s finish.

“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.”

That certainly holds true for the ’08 Dodgers and in most walks of life. Let’s hope that experience proves valuable in ’09.

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Josh- thank you for the new thread. It’s good to hear from you again. You really read through our craziness, that’s awesome. With the season over we start to ponder the off season business transactions. We are all ready for what 2009 has to bring🙂
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A tour would be wonderful. We are such a family over here that it would be good to have a family reunion of sorts!! Thanks for being so cool and nice to us. We all appreciate it.
Dodgereric as GM!!!!

“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.”
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We are so proud of our team, especially for the ‘young’ guys for holding their own in the playoffs. None of them have made it to the playoffs, let alone the NLCS. At the WIN event in August, Matt Kemp said that his goal is to play in the playoffs. Russell said that he wants to get farther in the playoffs than the first round. They both got more than they could have wished for. We didn’t make the WS, but the experience they’ve gained is extremely valuable. Number 2 in the NL this year, Next Year, NL Champs!! With our talent..the sky is the limit!
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I love this team so much🙂

i woul dre-sign manny to a four year deal..trade both jone and pierre for prospects..trade mcdonald, de jesus and elbiert for peavy, resign furcal to an incentive based contract..give casey a 2yrs deal if not go look for a third basement..or a 2nd basement and move dewitt to third…

No Penny. Resign Furcal & Manny (People won’t pay to see this team otherwise so you have to do it). Torre likes DeWitt at 3B, so look for a 2B. Are DY or Abreu options at 2B or not? If not, look outside the organization. Is Schmidt the 5th starter? Is Elbert ready to start again? I have Bills, Kuroda, Kershaw, MacDonald, so either one of the above to start or a FA or trade. And from now on, I will thoroughly research the health of any player I want to bring in so I don’t throw millions at overweight or damaged goods.

In all reality, our last strand only went 42 more posts than our previous record. We didn’t blow it out of the water, so to speak.
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I guess we always have something to strive for🙂
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GO Dodgers!!!
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I have no interest in being GM. Just keep my Russell, Matty, Loney, Blake, Andre, Billz, Borx, Wade, Kersh.
Basically, anyone 26 years old and younger. haha. Keep my boys around as the young core!!

Amy – you’d be the Logan’s Run of GMs. Anyone over 30 and they’re history.
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(you’re so young you may have to look-up Logan’s Run on the web to see what I’m talking about.)
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BTW, glad you’re back amongst the living and feeling fine.

JOSH – Thanks for taking time and reading our blogs. I know that there are soooo many. Thanks for listening to us regarding the Tour. I am looking forward to the tour.
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Hello all ITD…I’ve been out sick and away from the computer…YUP AMY the flu is going around and it just got me good. My immune system was down right after the Dodgers lost….I am a little better now. I have a lot of catching up in my ITD reading, which I will do at lunch time (in about 15 minutes). EVERYONE HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY.
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OH yeah about me being Manager for a day…yup not going to work. I would probably do worst to the team than help. I’m so clueless when it comes to that, but if I do get an idea or something pops to my head I will voice my opinion. Yeah and for sure if PIERRE and JONES do not want to be part of this organization then TRADE THEM.

Josh!!!
So good to see another thread from you!! I miss going to the stadium! A tour with the ITD group would be great! I’ve taken 3 already but I’d love to take one with the group! I’ll post later so that I can play GM!
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Greetings ITD!
I am in N.H. this week working here. Weather is nice and crispy here. The leaves still have their beautiful fall colors. High 50, low 30 but for Wednesday the weather is predicting rain/snow hight 42, low 24. I have not read every post from the prior thread but I’ll try to cach up later.

I would like to sign Manny. I also, like Amy, would keep ALL of the youngsters………Andre, Matt, James, Russell. I’d get rid of Pierre, Jones, Penny and Schmidt. (I think Jeff, Nomar and Derrick will be gone, either to retirement or free agency) Therefore, I’d look for a pitcher. Juan wants to be traded so, just do it!

Scott – jhall is the brains behind the calendar idea, so you will have to check in with him on what months are taken🙂

I like many of the ideas if you were GM. I will have to think about that one when I have time to contemplate more. However, I am just happy being team mom. Let Dodgereric be the GM, or any other of our brilliant ITDers with their wonderful ideas.

My regal robes of the office, would be blue, not orange, not black.
I’d command each person, be it coach or player.
With a woof and a woof and a royal growl – woof.
As I’d click my heel, all the writers would kneel.
And the broadcasters bow and the scribes kowtow.
And the critics would not condemn – If I – If I – were GM!
Each player would show respect to me
The fans genuflect to me.
Though my tongue would lash, I would show compash
For every underling!
If I – If I – were GM!
Just GM!
Monarch of all I survey — Mo–na-a-a–a-arch Of all I survey!

Dnelly: If you were GM, you wouldn’t be afraid of getting rid of non-performing veterans?
dodgereric: Not nobody, not no how.

jhall: Not even Scott Boras?
Lion: Imp-oceros.

Dnelly: How about resigning Manny?
dodgereric: Why I’d sign him to a 3-year, $75mil with a 2-year option. We need his fanny.

Dnelly: Supposin’ you can’t trade Pierre?
dodgereric: I’d kick him in the derierre.

Enchanted: What if Schmidt can’t go?
dodgereric: I’d make him feel like a ho.

Group: How?
dodgereric: How? Courage! What makes a King out of a slave? Courage!
What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage!
What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage!
What makes the Sphinx the Seventh Wonder? Courage!
What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage!
What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the ape in ape-ricot? What have they got that I ain’t got?

Everybody and Colleti are very adamant about keeping about keeping our young core, but we have to have some perspective, you weren’t that good before Manny came to town. I don’t have a problem with moving Kemp or Martin. Larry Bowa made a good point about Manny’s influence in the maturation of our young players, if Manny isn’t brought back, that influence has to come from someone else. We are losing a lot of our veterans this offseason, veterans are what we have to be bringing in for our roster holes in the outfield, starting pitching, and third base.
If we let Lowe and Penny both go, which is a possibility, and exceptable in my view, then we have to make an aggressive push for Sabathia.
our other four starters:
Billingsley – youth isn’t an excuse anymore
Kuroda
Kershaw
McDonald
There is no reason to devalue Martin by moving him to 3B. He has developed into an All-Star Catcher. In 3B, he just average. But we need to understand that he is not a 3-4-5 hitter; bat him at the 2, 6, or 7.
DeJesus is our 2009 2B. He isa better than DeWitt, and on the subjectm DeWitt isn’t the answer for 3B. We should trade for Beltre.
Manny – 4 yrs./100 mil. Anything more and you walk away.
We can talk about trading Pierre & Jones all we want, and they can ask for a trade all they want, but the fact is that nobody wants them, their respective value is lower than dirt. If it does happen, we are not getting anything worthwhile for them. The best we can hope for at the present is have another take their contracts by packaging them with other prospects, and thats unlikely. The best thing to do is hold on to them, play them, get their value up, and then try to move them.

if i was GM, i would let manny, kent, nomar, lowe, penny, maddux, sweeney, and bennett walk. that’s roughly 45-50 million coming off the books and we collect 4 premium draft picks by offering arbitration to manny and lowe. as incredible as manny has been for us, there is no way this team should give him a 6-year 150 million dollar contract. manny has already said he wants to see who the highest bidder is, and boras has stated publicly that manny will be seeking “iconic” money. combine that with his advanced age and past behavior and it does not look good for his future in LA. with the glut of money that would have been thrown at mr. ramirez, i would prefer to invest the money in CC sabathia. this team is deprived of superstar players in their prime, and CC would give us just that. hopefully he would accept my offer of 6 years 141 million with an option for a 7th year at 25 million (very similar to the santana contract). i would do everything i could to keep furcal around. he’s said he wants to stay in LA, so hopefully he would accept my offer of 2 years, 23 million. ideally, i would sign furcal AND orlando hudson, but i realize it would be extremely expensive, so i must be creative. juan pierre has a horrible contract, so i would contact omar minaya to swap bad contracts for luis castillo. pierre has slightly more remaining on the 3 years of his contract, but the mets will be glad to pick it up because of his sexy SB total. i have absolutely no desire to see andruw jones next season, so i would see if garret anderson would be interested in coming up the freeway for 2 years, 16-20 million. i know his OBP is nothing to get excited about, but i think his overall play would be better than delwyn’s or andruw’s. after all was said and done, my lineup would be: |||||

DNEL – Hey girl, I was going through all the post of this weekend…I couldn’t fine the calendar stuff. Can you briefly explain what was going on? I read and read and couldn’t find it…did read something about taco bell and alcoholic drinks, I did read about the beginnings ITD and when some of you posted for the first time, the Yellow song, Amy is back and well and other topics. I did see you asking someone about the Calendar Idea but I couldn’t find it…PLEASE HELP

A month or so back I ran some preliminary numbers that showed us being able to offer what should be competitive contracts to both Manny and CC, increasing the total payroll ‘only’ about $20-$25mil. This included, if memory served, buying out Penny, letting Lowe, Kent and Nomar go, but keeping Blake with a modest raise for what the Indians paid him. Of course, we’d release Sweeney and the rest of the PVLs like Bennett. It includes assuming that we have nowhere to put Pierre and Schmidt and Jones but on our roster. It also including giving marginal raises to the Young Guns, although I have no real idea what would be fair.

Although there’s decent money coming off the books this year, we’ll take that up and more to sign Ramirez and CC. I’ve done no homework on when our youth start to hit the arbitration years, but we’ve got a lot of money coming off the books after next season with Jones and Schmidt that will help take care of them.

I’d sure do a study on what effect Ramirez has on merchandising revenue before I say goodbye to him. He and Boros should too. He’ll have more latitude to be “Manny” here than in that NY pressure-cooker. He wouldn’t have to make any effort to win over fans in LA as opposed to NY (probably the only place that can afford him). That’s already done here. A quick signing press conference here and start up the machine for jerseys, stained batting helmets, dredlocks (let him grow it all he wants, BTW) bobbleheads, lunchboxes, cereal boxes, action figures, the list is endless. The easiest no-brainer win/win situation you’ll ever see.

Eric, AWESOME!!! I had that song in my head when I read the title, and then you knocked it out of the park! That’s why YOU DA’ MAN

If I was GM, the first thing I’d do is have a talk with Russ and his Agent, and see about keeping him long-term as a Dodger. If anyone knows anything about Dodger History and Tradition, it’s that we’ve always had great minds behind the plate, and Russell Martin’s don’t fall off trees (neither do Dioner Navarro’s, appearently, but I’m happier with Russ). The number one thing I’d want to avoid as a GM would be for Russell Martin, our defacto team captain the last few years, is for him to feel underappreciated. He’s one person we definitely should not take for granted (especially since we traded away a developing catcher).

That’s all I can think of right now, just off work and not exactly in a Front-Office frame of mind (and DEFINITELY not getting that Front Office check to be in a Front Office frame of mind, heheh).

1. Re-sign Manny……….give him whatever he wants, he is that important to this team and to this community.

2. If you have any money left after that, try and re-sign Furcal to a high money, short term deal. We will have a black hole at SS if we don’t bring him back and a short term deal will give him good motivation to try and stay healthy.

3. We will have a hole at whatever position Blake Dewitt doesn’t play (2B or 3B)…………we have to fill that hole in free agency somehow. We can bring back Casey Blake if possible on a one or two year deal………or try and find a different option in the free agency market or through trade to fill one of those two positions.

4. Try and move Juan Pierre and his salary. He is obviously not happy here now. On top of that, there is just nowhere to put him if we re-sign Manny. Offer some lower rung prospects along with some money to partially pay the money remaining on his deal so another team can take him off our hands.

5. We are going to lose Derek Lowe in free agency and the jury is out on Penny’s health (they will need to make a decision on his option)…………this leaves us with a rotation of Billingsley, Kuroda, Kershaw and most likely McDonald……….we will need another starter, here are the options:

– pick up Penny’s option (not sure what his health situation is)
– sign another starting pitcher in free agency, or trade for one (Peavy is out there, but it may take too much to acquire him)
– rely on minor league options like Stultz or possibly Elbert (if his arm can hold up as a starter)
– rely on Jason Schmidt to be able to pitch next season (not comfortable with that)

6. Try and re-sign Nomar and Berroa to low money, one year deals in order to be our utility guys off the bench…….Nomar especially can give us good value in that role.

7. Hire a personal trainer for Andruw Jones and have that trainer move in with him over the off-season. His goal should be to drop 20-25 pounds over the off-season.

Rose- It’s good to see you back. I missed you here this weekend. You contribute to the girl power on the blog!! I’m glad you are feeling better and so am I. I was out for over a week and it was terrible. It’s great to be back!
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Enchanted- thank you my dear. It feels so wonderful being peppy again. I still say that I wish I wasn’t sick during the playoffs so I could’ve enjoyed them a little better.
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Tru- keep my boys!! so true, we need our young core. I feel we will go very far with them for seasons to come.
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Dump Jones!
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Eric- love the creativity. You soo have my vote for GM! all the way~!

Amy, I can’t see how we could keep Jones, now that he’s outright displayed his feelings with the fans (and without discerning between the ones who booed him and the ones that cringed in their seats, and the brave souls I saw who chanted “Let’s Go Andruw” to dirty looks throughout the section).

Even notoriously media-unfriendly Jeff Kent knew better than that. He said “Bloggers!”, not “Dodger Fans!”

First time in 3 weeks that I’m feeling like myself. I had a cold/flu/allergy thing going that kept me low . . . but today’s wonderful.
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Fantabulous song, Eric. Absolutely perfect!!!
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Thinking about the “if I was GM” thing –
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First thing I’d do is sign Manny. After that I’d sign Maddux to a player/coach contract and get rid of Honeycutt. Would definitely do whatever it takes to keep the young core players here and happy long term. Unload Jones and Pierre – they MUST be gone!! If DeWitt is slated for third, then I’d sign Orlando Hudson to play second. I would keep Berroa; he played like he was “interviewing” for a job the last month or so of the season, and I liked what I saw. Peavy is certainly worth bidding on; so is Sabathia – either would do. Lastly I would take a hard look at who has advised me in the past regarding FA signings (Pierre, Jones, Schmidt, et.al.) and tell them to take a hike, and take Stan Conte with you.

NSB- agreed my friend. Keepiin gJones makes no sense at all. I do feel bad for Schmidy, he never got his shot. I still live Juan..I hope he’s happy where ever he ends up. That’s all I want for him.
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scott- thank you🙂 happy to be back!.
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diggie- what was your previous post name? I forgot!

scott, the fans aren’t going to pay $15 parking for garret anderson? how do you explain 2005 when fans were still coming in at record numbers to see the likes of olmedo saenz, jason philips, and jose cruz jr. suck everyday? we may not spend our hard earned money to watch GA, but CC would be a cornerstone of any franchise. prices are going to be outrageous whether we sign manny AND CC or sign david eckstein and call it an offseason.

If we can get another power source, I’d let Manny walk and be happy with the draft picks we would get when he declines arbitration. Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, Bobby Abreu, and Pat Burrell are free agents, they don’t really excite me, but they do bring power.

Hi DNel. Hope you’re having a Dodger-licious day.
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You guys were cracking me up yesterday – was lurking/reading, not contributing. Brain was not plugged in. Evidently laughter really IS the best medicine – LOL

good afternoon dnelly. On Little House today it was the opening of Nelly’s Restaurant. I thought of you and good old Nelly Olson.
the mini doughnuts are fabulous. Had a couple with my breakfast this morning- thanks for checking🙂
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I doubt the D’s have anykind of a shot at all with Hi-Bid Borass and Manny. Honestly, he shouldn’t be signed for any more than 2 years by an NL team. The AL (Okay, the Yankees) have the luxury of making him a DH if he becomes too much of a liability in LF. Marketing aside, he’s 37 next season – do you really want a 40 year old Manny being Manny in the OF in a couple years? Even at the end of this season Torre was bringing in Pierre – PIERRE! for defensive purposes for Manny.

Manny’s a great hitter, but its starting pitching more than anything else this team needs. Lowe’s gone (Borass again.) Penny should be. That leaves Schmidt (doubt he ever throws effectively again) and two kids (Kersh & McDonald) who shouldn’t be throwing over 160 innings apiece to go along with Billz and Kuroda. CC would go a long way of solidifying the rotation for years while the two kids develop.

Diggie – I am having an Ethieriffic day – students were pretty good, and it was just a fun, all around entertaining day🙂 I am glad we made you laugh. I am not sure when jhall and I started, but it was non-stop laughing from morning to 1:00am ish when the ITD late night crew decided we had done enough.

BTW – dodger4life – very cool the way you signed off last night, and I love what you did on Andre’s blog – funny🙂

Well, hopes were high after the Finley GS and all, but before Manny came in, things were getting ugly and Colletti and maybe even Joe were on the chopping block. This is L.A. baby. Do you want to be the Clippers or the Lakers? After tasting a star player this year, do you think the fans are going to settle for less? McCourt has stuck it to us fans big time and if they don’t sign Manny then it’s roll the dice all over again on second rate bums like Jones and Gonzales. Especially in the next year or so, people are going to have to be wiser with their money.

well at Least Nelly Olson calms down and become real nice once she grows up and has her own family. Too bad her mom adopts Nancy- aka Nelly part 2.
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I love little house. They also introduced Laura’s Manly today. True love🙂

I’m prepared to lose Manny….just don’t like the vibe out there. Manny’s bye bye wasn’t exactly an “I love you and will see y’all real soon…” If he signs, I couldn’t be happier; that’s where I’d spend free agent $$$ But……………I think he wants to be elsewhere.

So……..I’ll follow Torre’s lead and throw the cash into pitching. No CC or any other high-end arm, though. Name ONE long-term, high-salary pitching contract that has panned out? Build the staff from within, make a trade or two if you have to, stock up on middle relief withy your free agent money (if no Manny,) decide if Broxton is the closer, and if not, trade for one as well. NO K-Rod, please… Cross your fingers and hope for a healthy Schmidt. Not so sure I jettison Penny just yet. One more year on the cheap is doable. You can always trade him at the end of Spring Training if need be. Maddox? Why not?—as a player/coach/long man??? Kershaw, Kuroda, Billingsley…maybe McDonald and/or Elbert as starters (if not, then maybe AA or AAA until they’re ready…not so sure we’d be doing either a favor in the bullpen, but that will sort itself out).

Keep ALL the core kiddies: MartinLoneyKempEthierDeWitt. I still say Repko, if healthy, is a stud. Pierre and Jones? Move Pierre (I think his contract is “tradable” now); release/trade Jones…whatever it takes. We don’t need either one’s diminished skills and borderline crummy attitude infecting the team. Resign Furcal, move DeWitt back to third, Hu or DeJesus to 2B.

Lots of inexpensive young players on the cusp of stardom. Let them shine. Hopefully it all comes to together like the young Rays!!!

yep, enchanted. I’m not sure attendance will always be great though. I’m not as excited about going to the stadium as long as unruly fans are still allowed to ruin decent people’s experience there. More of a “Raider Fan” mentality these days as compared to the O’Malley era.

I’m still not completely sold on McCourt. There’s something not trustworthy about him.

That is sad Scott. I haven’t been to the stadium for 20+ years, but other than an occasional (and it was rare) drunk, the worst you ever heard then were boos. Perhaps Frank should cough up a few extra grand for security.

And I think you’re right – for the next year or two attendance will probably be down all over.

Ward Dear… more than enough I believe – thank you very much!!! nsblues, dcollins and dodger4life too. I am sure they have enough to start with, and then if we need more, I know where to find you – LOL!!! Fantastic stuff, really🙂

dodger4life – it’s like that most nights. I go to bed with a pain in my side and usually crying, I am laughing so hard. Among other things, I don’t think I will ever watch a “Leave it to Beaver” episode the same way ever again. However, yesterday was an all day event – starting with jhall and the Calendar Boys/Girls in the morning, ITD rewind and ending with baseball quotes. And the people that thought we wouldn’t have anything to do on here… they don’t know what they are in for 🙂

Ward Dear… I heard about the accident as it happened. xoxrussell texted me when it happened. She was sitting in that section by the foul pole. She said the person who fell had minor injuries and the person who was fallen on had neck injuries.

Jason Repko and Delwyn Young are extremely underrated. Baseball America said that Delwyn Young can be a starting left fielder for most Major League teams. The problem is Torre plays favorites, and is too stubborn to change his mind.

You’re welcome scott. I’ve only been to a couple of games in the last several years but I’ve seen some of this myself. It wasn’t too bad at all in the bleachers when I went this year, but last year I sat in the Reserved deck with my then-83-year-old mom and it wasn’t what I remembered at all. No offense to the majority of Raider fans, but they sure reminded me of them. I went to a few Raider games when they were in LA and they were some of the only times in my life that I was really checking my back – and I was in Raider colors!

Hello All,
Well I believe alot of us are supporting the Rays…GO RAYS. If it is NOT the Dodgers then GO RAYS….LOL
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NS – AMY yup I’ve been around. Actually I was mostly blogging during the evenings with Jeanette, BiddyBoo, Dnel, EdCarter, Spit and others. I was off from work so I had to wait til I put the kids to bed to blog. Then I got really sick and I just didn’t touch a computer. Then with this whole fantasy footbal crap, my husband hogs the computer at home so I just wait til work.
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DNEL – OK so I read something about ITD Calendars. I couldn’t catch it all since there were several conversation. But what exactly are you guys doing? I read something about ITD Babes…which pretty much elliminates me..LOL Photoshop’ing is fine with me, but do explain more please?

is it because we do not draw enough fans
do not pay enough in ticket prices
do not care about our team enough to where you can see that good team equals more revenue
do we not have a good media market?
Do we not have a great place to play weather wise
Do we not have good schools
Do we not have good public health care in Calidfornia?
Do we not have the highest paid manager and a well respected one?
So why is it again we can’t sign CC AND MANNY?

Manny doesn’t care where he plays, he is all about the money. I’d sign him to 4 years though.

I know Pierre wants to be traded if he isn’t starting everyday, what about AJones? I heard he already wants out. If we don’t sign Manny, you have to keep Pierre over Jones I believe.

We have to sign Furcal!

3b and 2b looks to be open, with DeWitt probably at one of them. Gotta sign FA for the other position open, probably 2b.

Pitchers, gotta sign 1 FA at least. Hope CC, but can’t see him and Manny both signing with same team unless its NYY. Love to see McDonald slotted as the 4th man or 5th next year. Schmidt should just retire.

Heading to Tampa for World Series tomorrow! Another nice sweet short vacation for me.

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Josh a tour would be awesome!!! count me in!!! i do have a question for you.. hopefully you can answer it.. I was wondering if at the “under the lights” event, would i actually get to meet some of the present players? or is it a “maybe” type thing?

Dodgersrule – First of all you need to talk to jhall – his idea. Ward Dear/dodgereric got roped into being photo shop guy by “I don’t know who” because I was probably laughing my a** off at all the other stuff that was happening at the same time. All I really know is I have April (mine and Andre’s birthday month, which happens to be my husband’s too, so we are all good – he’s actually the same sign as Andre, and jhall, and Eric – OMG!!!!! – no wonder!!!! – they are all Aries – makes sense now, doesn’t it? I happen to be the other sign – Taurus)….. I don’t forget birthdays – another occupational hazard I think 🙂

Okay – I have got to head on out to do my taxi mom duties and then on to church and then on to home eventually. Have a great evening, and I will catch up during the ITD late night edition. If I don’t see you during the ITD late night edition, have a wonderful evening.

Dnelly- hi! I know its Andre! That’s why i’m willing to pay $500 to go! haha! but I’ve asked quite a few people if they think its worth it and EVERY ONE said “yes, its worth it if you get to meet at least one of the players!”

acar- you’re back! I hope your trip went well🙂
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and I’m with you on the under the lights, the flyer is a little vague. most the team might be on vacation. But then it’s always a 50/50 chance anyone could show up… are you going?
I felt the price was a little outrageous for my taste.

Amy- yes my trip was awesome!! thanks for asking! and yes it is a bit pricey but thats why i’m asking if i’ll get to meet someone at least!! i’m still not for sure if i’m going or not.. i’ll be back later!!🙂

I am really torn on what the Dodgers need to do this offseason. As of yesterday I was firmly on the “Sign Manny” bandwagon but now I am questioning that. The only way I would resign Manny is if it’s a 3 year deal. Anything more then that we need to look elsewhere. If if comes down to signing Manny to a 4 or 5 year deal or signing Sabathia to a 6 year deal I’d choose to sign Sabathia. In the long run I think he’s the better investment. Anyways my plan if I was Dodger GM….

Let all the free agents we have this year walk away except Furcal. Decline Penny’s option and offer Manny, Lowe and Blake arbitration. I would offer CC Sabathia a 6 year 145 million Dollar deal. Sign Pat Burrell to a 3 year 52 million dollar deal. Also, I’d trade for Adrian Beltre for Scott Elbert, Chin Lung Hu and another prospect who’s not named Andrew Lambo or James McDonald. So If my plan came to fruition the lineup and rotation would look as soo.

Now to the bullpen. I hate to say it but I think we need to let Saito walk. I think he’s going to retire anyways. I’d sign Juan Cruz to a 2 year deal and would make Kuo the Closer.

Kuo (CL)
Broxton
Wade
Cruz I’d fill the last 2 spots with arms from within. Guys like Troncoso and whoever else we have in the farm system.

Bench time. Keep Delwyn Young and Danny Ardoin. After them I really don’t care enough to do the work to look up guys I’d but on the bench. We’ve got a couple capable guys in triple A and we can fill it out that way.

I think Manny is the better short term solution but when you start to think short term you forget about the long term. I think Sabathia would be the better investment because of his ability to still produce at the end of his contract. If Manny gets a 4 or 5 year deal he’ll be 42 when that ends. Who knows how he’ll play then. Sabathia is in his prime and will give us the better return in the long run I think.

I love Manny and enjoyed his time here but I think it’s better for the organization if they went with Sabathia. We’ve all complained about the overabundance of Old Guys on this team. I’d hate to see Manny become a liability in 3 or 4 years.

Max and to all in here… I have yet to read over all the comments posted but I have to confess… I don’t think we are going to get Manny and maybe that is in some strange way ok. He is phenomenal to say the least but ultimately as he gets older and for the length of the contract, not even thinking about the amount, he is better suited for the American League as a DH. Please don’t throw garbage at me!

I was already heartbroken once upon a time when they let go of Piazza, not again please!! I hadn’t felt as strong a connection with a team since the Piazza, Karros, Mondesi, Nomo days! How’s it going Tru? and everyone else? hope everyone had a nice day

Biddyboo ~ i was so angry when he was traded. I would feel the same way if they traded Andre and any of the other young guns. I liked Shawn Green too………liked the way he tossed his batting glove to a kid after a homer.
……….Ms.August

Yeah, I havent thought about it til you said it, but this is probably the most I’ve known about all the players since the 90’s in the Rookie of the Year Dynasty. Couldn’t tell you anything about Ron Coomer or Mike Blowers, though.

acardona- always a lurker and occasional poster! My name hasn’t changed other than the 3 at the end of it isn’t there!
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John- I need a beer! I have to finish a damn writing assignment for macro and man is it boring!

I met Steve Sax a few years ago when I worked at the local ballpark. He was my favorite Dodger growing up, so I was frozen… I don’t even remember what I said, or if I said anything, and I don’t think I even shook his hand, just had him sign a book I gave to my dad for Father’s Day.

Tru- it’s funny to think back on who our “first favorite dodger” was, and look at our favorites now huh?🙂 i just hope Andre, James, Russy, and Matty don’t get traded away like Piazza did!! that would break my heart!!

We’re trying to put together an ITD Gals/Ethierholics/DodgerGals 2009 calendar. Most likely a downloadable on line kind of thing to honor all you great girl Dodger fans. Started off kind of in jest but is gathering steam and is quite doable. Get those pics ready to submit to DodgerEric by Thanksgiving.

nsblues ~ I’d be speechless too if I met any of my favorite players, and believe me, speechless is not easy for me! When I met Andre at a signing, all I could come up with to say was, “Nice to meet you.” Boy, is he a cutie!

J28- I know. Tomorrow is my long day. Work full time early morning and then off to school at night until 8pm. My day is basically awake at 4am and done at 8pm and then hopefully sleep by 11pm. How many units are you taking at Fullerton?

Lordy! Like a full time job! I go to Cal State L.A. I thought it was going to be bad there but all my teachers have been awesome! My friend goes to Fullerton. She said there’s like a bar on campus, is that true or is she pulling my leg?

jhall- oh wow! that’s cool! you can make my month just a tribute to Andre!! haha!! i don’t want my pic on there! but that’s a great idea!! Dnel, TruBlue, Sara, and Amy deffinately need to be a part of that!! haha
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well i have to get going.. nice chatting with you all!! i’ve been so bored without a dodger game to watch every day!!! lol okay have a great night everyone!!!

Don Drysdale, came to one of my little league games. I played for the Dodgers and we were playing the Giants.
On the back of the Giants jersey it said (DON DRYSDALE SPORTING GOODS) I can remember thinking thats just not right. We were on the field at the time and were having troulble getting three outs, by the time we did Drysdale started to leave. I ran off the field catchers gear still intact and caught him down the street. Game still in progress forget the game this was Don Drysdale. I ask him to sign my mitt and in the progress said ( HOW COULD YOU SPONSER THE GIANTS). He laughed at me gave me my mitt back and said go beat them for me kid.

LOL seriously! I lived right by frat row and those ppl partied wednesday-Sunday! I had a friday class at 8am and that was just unheard of for most of them cuz Thursday was their main party night…my roommate invited me to a “highlighter” party once at one of the frat houses, but I just had to pass, everyone on my floor in the dorms was going. I guess I was the only loser! lol

Biddyboo, up at Chico, they might as well have bartenders in every class. I’ve had classes where the first day, a guy recognized a stripper who was at one of the parties. awkward for them, but I thought it was hilarious.

not made up! I had teacher tell us, “if you can’t make it to an exam because it was your buddies b-day the day before and you’re gonna go out and get wasted..just let me know and you can come take the test during my office hours or the next class meeting. I went to State, I know what its like” lol

He beaned more than one. It was some big kid we picked up from the minors before that game. He threw smoke but WILD. He threw a pitch over the backstop that was why we were having trouble gettin three outs. LOL!!!!
But I hade faith!!!
GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Josh- The question is, what would you do as the GM?? I think you have a pretty good idea of what we all would do (i.e. Sign Man Ram, trade whiny Juan, and perhaps fire Torre and hire back on Tracy….ok I’m kidding). But in all seriousness…I want to know what GM Josh would do. What do ya say ITD gang?

Hi Wally!!! I’m home!!! Just got back from having fun with the ladies at church. Looks like you have a lot of friends here tonight…. Where is Beav Wally? He’s not talking to that man in the hole again is he? He sure does miss his big brother when your not around. I guess your father will be coming home shortly. I talked to him earlier, and he was having a mighty swell day. How was your day dear?

Good evening nsblues – boy!! you guys have been busy since I was on here last!! This is just a rockin’ place right now. Okay – I haven’t read all the posts since I left school, but is Chico still the party school it once was when I was at Sac State many years ago (86-89)?

Hey Ns,
I used to live in Santa Rosa, and most of my friends went to Chico State. Word was thats where you went to get a Phd. in drinking. Maybe you deserve a doctorite.
Ive been drinking no spell check.LOL

Chico State isn’t the Number One Party School it once was, but it’s still pretty crazy. within two blocks of school, there’s at least 5 bars (with at least 5 more restaurants that serve alcohol), so, it does get kind of wild.

Things have gotten less crazy since a couple of students died in hazing incidents (water poisoning) and an underage softball recruit was given drinks at a college party, all that happening from 3 years to 1 year ago. But just last weekend, there was a riot on campus where a mass of students started fires and the police fired gas and rubber bullets into the crowd, some of which jumped over the small fires they set.

dodger4life ~ Santa Rosa – there were a few Santa Rosans at Sac State that were in the dorms with me. Yes, Chico was defintely a place that we went to a few times. Once I moved out into apartments, I had a roommate who lived in Redding so it was kind of a road trip for us on some weekends.

I don’t think I would make a good GM because I get too attached to the players.
But since I’m not the GM, I’d say this:
Don’t re-sign anyone whose contract is ending this year with the exception of Manny & Furcal.
I’d say that the team we put on the field for the postseason including Saito should be untouchable, except for the expiring contracts.
I think the experience alone will help them play more relaxed in the postseason so they can feel the same as they do in the regular season.
I know that signing Ramirez will change the dynamics of this team in a good way but also in some hash ways like not being able to keep some of the guys we learned to admire.
So that’s why I could not be the GM.

I need some baseball help. I just read the article about the buy out on Berroa. they bought him out, but he is still a dodger, but is not a free agent?
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is there a simpler way to explain this to little ole Amy?
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Dodger4life, Yeah, I might not be a doctor, but I’ve probably earned a Master of Brewology the last few years.

Even though I don’t really have a taste for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, the local microbrew whose founder/brewmaster got an honorary Doctorate in Business Admin when my girlfriend graduated. I’m just not a fan of Pale Ales (except sometimes Rolling Rock), I’m more of a Mexican beer/German Lager/Guiness kind of guy.

Basically Amy, it comes down to him not having 6 years of service in the show so he cannot be a free agent. We would have to offer him arbitration however to keep him as he has over 3 years of service time.

Clubs have players under their control for 6 years before they can become free agents. After 3 years, they become eligible for arbitration. I believe Marty will be arbitration eligible after next season.

Read the article again, a few times if necessary AMYW27.
I had a problem with it myself.
All I know is that it’s a ruling of some kind but I couldn’t explain it for the life of me.
He’s still a Dodger.

Berroa has over 3 years of service time so he is eligible for arbitration if we buy out his contract. If they don’t offer arbitration, he becomes a free agent.
LOL Dad!!! Actually MomNelly was a bigger influence. LOL!!!!

LOL Dad!!!!
Beav, that is going to cost the Dodgers some bucks in arbitration if Dre and Marty are eligible. They need to sign them both long term and buy out there arbitration and may be a free agent year or two. Generally cheaper in the long run.

The Dodgers approached Martin’s agent earlier this season trying to do exactly what you want, jhall. They were turned down. They flat-out said they didn’t want to sign away his arbitration years like the Dbacks did with Justin Upton.

Yep, that’s the trade-off. Switching sports, Eric Dickerson used to get around that by signing a long-term contract with the Rams every year and then re-negotiate EVERY DAMNED SEASON! Lord, that used to piss me off!

enchanted ~ you might be on to something there. You had mentioned that earlier, but work was getting in the way of reading too much today – well, laughing was getting in the way too. That is definitely a thought…..

Ward Dear…. Ever since you posted on the Rays blog, there have been posters from the Cubs and Indians too, along with a few of us as well. However, we just kick butt when it comes to posting, they are only up to 50 since 2:30 am. We knock out 50 in 30 minutes.

Okay, now Mr. Rawitch wants our thoughts as to what we would do if we were the Dodgers’ GM. Boy, that is a LOADED question!!! Okay, let me say something about the “potential” trades that we’ve heard in the last few days.

About Peavy, my first thought when I first heard this the other day was to say, NO, don’t trade for Peavy. Then I thought about it and I started to say, yeah, maybe we can do something. But the more I think about it (and this is where I am now), I ask myself, why is SD looking to shop Peavy at this time? Peavy has a contract that will pay him $78 mil over 5 years (thru 2013). Again, I ask why shop Peavy at this time? I would like some answers before I venture into any semi-serious discussions about him. Peavy didn’t have that good a year in 2008; is he hurt more than the Pads are letting on??? Again, I would like some answers before I venture into any semi-serious discussions about him. I do know that Peavy and Maddux were close in SD, and I’m sure that Peavy would love to be reunited with Maddux…

Russ Martin to Red Sox. No, absolutely, no! I would NOT do this! My reason for this is not only do I not want to see any of our Young Guns traded, but also I think this or any trade for any of our Young Guns would not be a good thing. Young Guns, to me, include: Ethier, Kemp, Loney, Martin, Billz, Kersh and Brox (no, I haven’t given up on him yet; too young to give up on). If any of these Young Guns are traded, I think that will demoralize the rest of the Young Guns and be counter-productive.

Resign Raffy to an incentive-laden contract for 2 years. Resign Casey Blake for 2 years. If we don’t resign Casey, then have DeWitt play 3B next year and have DeJesus or someone from the minors fill the 2B role. Kent is gone. Lowe is gone. Penny is gone.

Hey Nelly!!! Boy, Josh sure did ask a loaded question, huh??? Well, he asked!!! I’m up later than I usually do. I guess I kept my husband up all of last night with my snoring. So I’m letting him fall asleep first, before I go to bed. Thought I’d chime in on Josh’s question.

For me CP, it’s the other way around. My husband is the snorer so I let him go to bed first (which is way too early for me), and by the time I am ready to go be, I am tired enough where I fall asleep fairly quickly.

*** NOTE TO JOSH ***
I know he and everyone other player is on vacation right now, but if you can “suggest” to Andre to give us good places to eat in the Phoenix area, that’d be great!!! It’d be great for those going to that area for ST!!!

Good morning. In the car to work this morning I realized that I’m not emotionally over baseball. Paper planes came on, followed by Russy’s walk up music. Plus Ryan Seacrest was talking about the Madonna concert at Dodger Stadium. he must have said ‘Dodger Stadium’ like 8 times. It was killing me. I though of my friend NSB who said “it’s boring without baseball”.
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so true. Hope everyone has a pleasant day. CP good luck with the job search!!
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Josh- are you working hard in preparations for the Madonna concert?? Your job never ends!
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Viva Los Dodgers!!!!

Good Morning ITD:
TRU – thanks for the info on Berroa. There is going to be “Manny” changes for next season.
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CP – I hope it all goes well with your interview…prayers your way.
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AMY – no matter what we do or go, what time of the year we are on…DODGERS WILL ALWAYS BE PART OF OUR LIVES…THINK BLUE…..ISN’T IT GREAT!

My dad once had a punish lesson – 50 pages of “I Must Not…” and halfway through wrote; “if you read this far I will give you a quarter.” The next day the class turned in the assignments and the following day the sister at Queen of Peace School asked my dad for the quarter.

It takes a long time to read through these posts! You deserve a quarter – AND a championship team in 2009.

My guess is that management will measure the marketing worth of spending the huge dollars to keep Manny and they will at least bid that high. More than just jersey sales and filled season ticket sales, Manny really can bring success to the Dodgers. Minus Manny the Dodgers will need a miracle to fill the runs batted in.

I hope Jason Schmidt can pitch. He was awsome a couple years ago. I cannot believe Jake Peavey will be available for anything less than the Dodgers best 2 current pitchers and that would not include Lowe who, according to the media, is heading back to bean town.

Losing Kent at 2nd base is bigger than most people think so a priority should be a power hitter for third or second with the open spot going to Blake Dewit. Keeping Furcal is a risk because he is injury prone but healthy he is the best. Furcal is worth the risk if the Dodgers have good backup players and we like him!

Don’t give up on Andruw Jones yet. Injury free he will be a great number 5 or 6 hitter in the lineup and very able to get those 30 homeruns we were hoping for this year. Despite the boos (I was not one of them) he can still be a Dodger favorite. I just hope we get a chance to cheer for him again. Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp need to somehow play every day. These guys are the Marris and Mantle of the Dodger future and their off-season should concentrate on hitting skills to make them more confident and polished. Both have impressed Los Angeles so much and have become fan favorites.

Hey – tell the guys in the front office; DON’T EVEN THINK of trading Russel Martin. Not now – not ever. If poor Russel can only use one leg we still want him on our squad. The SHAME of trading away Mike Piazza and Paul LoDuca still lingers in the halls but I am confident that the current ownership respects the fans as only the O’Mally family was able to.

Thank you for a great year of notes and insider information. I can’t wait for Spring Training.

Skepco, I agree with most of your post. I’m hoping Schmidt can come back for his contract year (which might be motivation enough). Manny should be a bigger priority than McCourt could imagine, but even so, there are no guarantees when Boras is involved, and he DOES want to stick it to Boston, and he’s from Washington Heights, home of Vin Scully and also the Dodgers (who played pre-Ebbets at Washington Park, where they used the George-Washington-slept-here-and-led-the-Battle-of-Brooklyn-from-here-too Gowanus house as a clubhouse), so I think it would be hard not to imagine the Yankees getting Manny (and probably Lowe too).

The only thing I sorta disagree with is Jones. I wanted to like Andruw Jones, but it seems like he gave up on Dodger Fans long before we gave up on him. Of course, 35,000 boos every night might do that to you.

OK I am the GM:
Get an ACE (CC free agent), get a new closer (Fuentes), move Saito to setup (I do not believe he will be physcially able next year so Broxton can develop into a pitcher rather than just a thrower of a 98 mph fastfall), resign Furcal for 2 years with incentives, sign Blake (3 years), keep DeWitt at 2nd, sign a slugger (Manny max 3 years x $25mm or Dunn for 4 years at $20mm), move both Kershaw and McDonald into starting rotation, trade Pierre for prospects (paying 1/2 of salary), walk from Penny (physcially unable to perform at the level of salary he wants), Biemel walks. Stay out of arbriation with both Martin and Either (and maybe Kemp???)

Good Afternoon nsblues and enchanted!!! I like the shirt on Howard nsblues🙂

Welcome skepco and chuck – awesome posts from both of you. Fuentes isn’t a bad idea. I am a little bias since he is from my home town, but it is a thought. I’m not sure how I would handle Brox though. I will have to think more about that one.

WE LOVE OUR DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!
365 DAYS A YEAR
24 HOURS A DAY
7 DAYS A WEEK
EVERYDAY – DODGER BLUE IS THE WAY!!!!

SKEPCO – I agree with you in “Manny” ways. Oh yeah please DO NOT TRADE MARTIN, KEMP OR ETHIER. If that was to ever happen…L.A. Fans will be very but very psssst off. Andruw Jones is a power hitter, but to tell you the truth, I feel that he does not want to be in L.A. and he is not putting all his power & heart to the game. He should play someplace else where he is happy. If he does stay in L.A. then he has a lot to do to earn the respect of the fans here..
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AND OH YEAH IF I WERE MANAGER…then ITD members will have their seating section next to the duggout and ITD members can attend Dodger practices and as well participate in the practices. Let’s not forget we get to park where the players park. Discount on all Dodger items, beer, tickets, food etc. Before making any trades or change in lineup….Management must consult and obtain approval from ITD…LOL!

How would us Dodgers fan feel if management decided to just close up the purse strings and cover up the roster holes from within and allow the young players to just take their lumps. Don’t resign anyone, get the draft picks from the departing free agents, wait out contracts to expire, and just be patient and watch our players develop into whatever it is they are going to be. We keep Penny to round out the starting rotation, and apparently Schmidt doesn’t have anymore discomfort.

I guess the only reason I’m not playing GM is because I’m the kinda guy who, when playing a baseball video game, goes for Season Mode instead of Franchise Mode. I like watching the game, but numbers make my head hurt. If I’d have a chance at a Front Office job, I’d probably be better suited to the PR department, or Advertising, or generally anything involving typing.

Looking at how well thought-out everyone’s response to Josh has been, I’m very impressed! Me, I’m more inclined to bust out a typewriter than to bust out the Adding Machine.

OG, I’d be reasonably okay with that lineup. Most people would probably be upset with the fact that the Big Market Dodgers didn’t make an offseason splash, but that would be compensated when the Young Guns start getting their next contracts.

With all the money tied up in Jones, Pierre, Schmidt (if unhealthy), etc, I’m kinda worried that soon we’d have to, say, pick 2 out of Martin, Loney, Kemp and Ethier. Your plan covers that worry.

Ned had the right idea by signing PVLs… but what we should be doing instead of getting bargains is gunning for a PVLIHP, a Proven Veteran Leader In His Prime. Yeah, a lot easier said than done, but I think we could use at least one guy in his prime to drive the ship. We could afford at least one and still have enough money to keep the Young Guns that are growing into a team.

1. Sign CC Sabathia 6 years $140M (doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to flip him year 5 or 6.)
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2. Trade DY, Hu, Elbert and Pierre + Cash for Peavy (if healthy, and I don’t want Conte making THAT call.)
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3. Sign Maddux as player-coach
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Rotation is now CC, Peavy, Bills, Kuroda & Kersh with Maddux taking a turn now and then in pitcher friendly ballparks.
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Closer: Brox (he’s only 24 and did a better than decent job when handed the reins.) Set-up: Wade and Kuo. Rounded out, take your pick of 2: Biemel, Procto, Stults, Troncoso.

Trade McDonald for Holliday straight-up (Holliday must be a trade and sign or no deal.)
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Outfield now Holliday/Kemp/Ethier
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If you can’t dump Jones, sit his sorry *** on the bench and he can be a defensive replacement, though I’d prefer to cut him from the team and eat the contract.
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#4 Jones, #5 Repko

Sign I-Rod for two years as catcher. He’ll help the kids and give better defense than Marty. He’ll catch about 3/4 of the games. Marty will take his days off (hence Aurilia or Counsell at 3B), with Ardoin getting a spot start or two. I-Rod buys us 2 years until Lucas May is ready for the show.

Furcal
Ethier
Kemp
Holliday
Loney
Marty
I-Rod
DeWitt
CC

Wins the west and CC, Peavy and Billz would be hard to beat in the playoffs.

I really do love all the ideas if you were GM. I am much like nsblues, I don’t think I would make it or want to be the GM. I would want to work in the hospitality department somewhere, primarily with the team – team mom🙂

Beav, I like your style. Do you think the Rox would go for that deal straight up? I like the idea of getting an everyday player for a SP, but I think the Rox would want more. They can afford to wait, they have a few months before the trading deadline. I like you as the GM. Can I sit in the dugout between Maddux and Mattingly?

hey guys. today’s been one of those busy, can’t really post kind of days.
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Welcome new friends. Chuck and Skepco.
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I wore new shoes today and now my feet are bleeding from the blisters popping. I hate my feet sometimes.
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Dnel and Rose- yes, Dodgers 24/7. I also like your idea of having ITD Stadium privilages I want dugout seats at an affordable price🙂 but then everyone would join ITD just to cash in. Josh would have to know who the real family members were.

enchanted, I like a lot of the proposals you made, but as Aesthetics Coordinator I’m not thrilled with giving up both Elbert and McDonald. Their replacements look GREAT on paper…but in reality CC has NOT been a post-season legend and he’s pitched an average of 222 innings/year for eight years (I’m surprised he didn’t break in half the way Milwaukee used him down the stretch…253 innings this year, 241 last season). And I’m not sold on Peavy’s health. Peavy’s a smallish guy with a wicked slider (a pitcher’s “ouch!-I’m-injured” pitch) and I doubt the Pods would even think of trading him if he wasn’t, shall we say, “damaged.” That said, pitching is such a crap shoot. I know Torre wants to zero in on it, but does ANYONE trust Ned and/or Conte and/or Honeycutt to know a decent, HEALTHY pitcher when they see one??? Another problem: Division rivals Rocks and Pods are NOT going to take our dirty dish water for All-Stars Peavy (even if he IS secretly dinged) and Holliday, with all due respect to Hu, Young, Pierre, Elbert and McDonald (the only real keeper in the bunch…well, maybe Elbert, too).

ok here are my thoughts.
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.first off, i would like manny resigned, however i realize that that might not happen. if we cant sign manny then we HAVE to sign or trade for a middle of the order bat. i like burrell, dunn, but burrell more than dunn.
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you trade pierre for same prospects or relief pitching…eat whatever you have to.
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wait till spring and see whats up with andruw and either trade him or use him as your 4th of.
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dewitt is an ok hitting 3rd baseman, but a good hitting 2nd baseman. so i leave him at second.
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you sign furcal
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move russ to third…now i know some people dont like this idea because he calls a great game and his offense isnt really your typical 3rd baseman. however i trly believe his offense will be better as a third baseman just because his body will be much more rested.
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sign jason variteck. i know offensively he isnt all that great anymore but he can call a game as good or better than russ…..russ could catch on days that variteck takes off. i think i-rod is good to. and bengi molina can produce offensively but i think he would have to be traded for.
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i think you let lowe walk, and make a run for cc.
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sign maddux as your 5th starter/long relief. i think j-mac and maddux should split time in those roles, because he probbaly doesnt need to pitch 200 innings yet.
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sign nomar as your utilty infielder, if he is willing to take a pay cut.
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start de jesus at AAA and see how he progresses and bring him up to spell dewitt and furcal if he produces.
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Furcal ss
andre rf
loney 1b
manny, burell lf
russ 3b
kemp cf
dewitt 2b
variteck, rodriguez c
cc, bills, kuroda, kershaw, mac/mad

bench:
young, jones (maybe), hu, nomar………..
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i truly believe you can sign manny/burell and cc. the money that this team would bring in would cover their contracts.

Good afternoon/evening ITDland ~ we have some potential GM’s among our family. You all have very good ideas. It’s nice to see new members to IDT…….welcome Chuck and Skepco.
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I think Fuentes is a real possibilty. We almost had him at the trade deadline, but the Rockies blocked it. Like Dnellyae said, he is from our hometown and is real “Dodger” material. Our fans would really like him.

Trouble is we need someone to anchor the staff pookie. Otherwise we’re left with Billz, Kuroda, Kersh (max 160-170 innings – that’s about 5 per start), McDonald (ditto Kersh) and Schmidt/Stults/Orenduff/Miller/Elbert and/or a myriad of PVLs, any of which if they gave us 100 innings I’d be surprised. With this starting staff, the bullpen will be in shambles by the end of June. I agree on being suspect about Peavy, that’s why I wouldn’t want Conte taking a look at him.

No big bats in the FA market. Dunn K’s way too much and can’t hit for enough average to be effective on this team. Plus he’s another liability on the field. The way I see it, we’ll have to just about empty the farm to bring in anykind of bat. Only solace is that we should get two picks apiece for Lowe, Manny and Blake.

Marty hasn’t exactly been impressive behind the plate this last season either between the steals and bad throws. We get someone back there with more defensive skills we shore that up and save wear and tear on Marty. Another option is to play Marty LF, which would give you a + defense and offense outfield, then sign a 3B man be it Blake or Crede.

Any way you look at it, Flanders left this team with 5 seasons worth of holes in one offseason.

I just don’t think there is a possibility to sign Manny or CC. It just doesn’t seem realistic. Two 100+million dollar contracts seems too much. If we sign Manny we have to target a more affordable pitcher, and if we sign CC we have to target a more affordable batter.

I hope we resign Nomar as a pinch-hitter, its all me thinking with my heart, you could see how much he loves playing in LA and for the Dodgers.

manfromchina, It’s a lot to ask for a young pitcher like McDonald to have a dual-role in his first season. You have to decide, is he a reliever or starter, and in my eyes he is starter. Athletes are creatures of habit, and young players are just starting to form their habits, you can’t have him be starter one and then a reliever the next. Put him in the rotation, and until you know that is not where he should be, then you move him. This point can also be taken with Martin. Moving between two distinctly different positions is going to affect his offense. Name one All-Star caliber player that split time in two positions in one season.

og-
i see what your saying. but i think you would only use russ to catch 1 every 2 weeks or so. and if we needed to then we could sign a back up catcher so that he didnt have to do that.

you may be right about j mac. so maybe have maddux or maybe schmidt (maybe) as the fifth and start jmac at AA or AAA and bring him up mid way through and just decide whether its as a starter or reliever.

If we think that Martin shouldn’t be the Dodgers catcher, the answer isn’t to move him to a different position, the answer is to trade him as an All-Star catcher and get an excellent package for him. An All-Star catcher will get you an excellent package. On that note, there is a report that says that the Dodgers might put Martin on the trading block because they are not enamored with his makeup, if that is the case then why trade your best catcher prospect (Carlos Santana) in the Casey Blake deal, IT DOESN”T MAKE ANY SENSE.

oh and as far as the 2 big contracts i think we really need a bat as well as an ace. so cc and burrel. i know thats still 2 big ones but burell will be a lot less than manny. and the production really isn’t that far off. you would get better defense and he would hit the same hr and rbis. the average wouldn’t be quite as high but that lineup looks solid from top to bottom.

Agree, enchanted, Dodgers need a true ace…but then, I guess everyone does. I always felt we were a year or two ahead of schedule with Manny on board, anyway. If he bolts, maybe we let Kershaw, McDonald, and Bills grow into the studs we think they are. I keep thinking of the Rays. I haven’t even heard of most of their pitchers. You save cash and players (potential trades). Now if CC wants to be a Dodgers for a reasonable duration (four years), then sure. But he won’t. As for sticks…please no more PVLs. No Burrell, no Dunn, no Veritek, no Casey Blake, trade Pierre, wave a magic wand and make Jones go away. If there is no Manny, trade for a guy IN HIS PRIME, like Campanis used to do. Maybe Ned can actually follow up Manny with an even more brilliant move. Well, then again……….

i wont say to trade russ just cause thats blasphemy but i understand what your saying. iyou could get a 3rd baseman who can hit as good or better by trading him……..geeze i think im just to atached to him.

The biggest frustration isn’t when you have holes in your roster, but when you have question marks in your roster. Question marks for us, I believe are Andruw Jones, Brad Penny, and yes, Jason Schmidt. The question is: Can we expect any positive production from any of them?
Answering that question tells you whether or not you have a hole, if you decide you do, then you fill it.

When you have Young Guns you concede that frustration because you know you are going to have question marks. Take Matt Kemp, his question mark is whether he is going to be the consistent power bat that is going to get you 30+ HR, with a young team you stay patient and let them develop. Now, I love my Dodgers, and I believe in our Young Guns, so I have no problem being patient. But, when you sign a Joe Torre, you are making a statement that you want to win now, then our patience is limited and you have to make moves.

manfromchina, I understand about getting attached, we read about the next Dodgers prospect coming through the minors, going up the steps on his way to show, and then you finally see them wearing Dodger Blue, and say, “so thats Adrian Beltre,” or “so thats Eric Gagne, and Jason Repko”, or “so thats Chad Billingsley, and Matt Kemp, and Andy LaRoche” you look at them wearing that uniform and see them get their first hit or first out and think that is their first step to being the next great Dodger and to a Hall of Fame career. Dodger Blue makes you believe.

Good evening ITD boys and girls!
Thx for the well wishes on my interview. It was today @ 3:00. It went fine; again, a waiting game. And this interview was with the County of Ventura; nothing is ever fast where the county is concerned.

Thx Nelly/TruBlue!!! Don’t you love that tour idea!!! I sure do!!! Like I said before, I can’t wait!!! About a month ago, the three of us (myself, Jim and Kyle) had a LONG talk. A lot was said at that time. But what came out of it is Kyle (my son) has committed to cooking for the three of us, once each week. Well, Kyle cooked for us tonight! He BBQ’d, but it went great! And I didn’t have to cook or clean up afterwards!!!

Okay, I know I put in my 2 cents worth earlier, but I’d like to say some things that I didn’t say before. No way would I try for Dunn; too many strikeouts. But some of you were saying to sign Fuentes. I forgot that he’s a FA and maybe that would help shore up our pen. If that means saying sayonara to Sammy Saito, well, maybe that’s what it means. If we do pick up Fuentes, then Broxton can go back to his 8th inning role until he develops into a full-time pitcher, rather than the thrower he is now.

I don’t think that we’ll be able to resign Manny. I would go no further than 4 years/$100 mil. I KNOW that Manny/Borass won’t go for that; they want 6 or 7 years. And I wouldn’t do that. So if we don’t resign Manny, then we can definitely go after CC. That Burrell idea might work. But we MUST (1) trade Pierre and eat part of his contract and (2) have someone OTHER THAN CONTE to evaluate Jones’ health and evaluate what Jones can contribute before we make a serious run at Burrell. Repko can be back up, along with Xavier Paul.

And I forgot to mention my thoughts on DY. I love this kid! If I were Ned & Torre, I would FIND a defensive position for him! But what they did to him in 2008 was just wrong. You don’t call a 26 year-old kid like him up to the majors, just to ride the pine and PH. He is WAY too young and valuable for that. If the Dodgers can’t find a position for him, then trade him to a team that will start him.

enchanted – the more and more I think about what you said last night and yesterday about Ned being on a fishing expedition to find out some ideas on what he should do, the more it makes sense. There aren’t any ideas so far that aren’t out of the the realm of possibilities (the normal ones) – hmmmmm…. makes me wonder.

CP – I don’t want Manny for more than 4 years ethier, and even 4 for me is pushing it (3 would be the ideal). And poor DY – they need to play him or let him go. I was saying the same thing about Andre at the beginning of the season. DY is too valuable to sit th bench like you said.

Yes, Manny at 3 years would be ideal, and 4 is pushing it, but that is the extent I would go. But again, I KNOW Manny and Borass wouldn’t accept that. I just want them to decide what is going to happen with DY. Again, what they did last year to him was wrong.

cp ~ I think you are right about Fuentes and Brox….that would be an awesome combo. I did want Manny signed but, I also am being realistic and don’t think it will happen. I didn’t get to see DY play much so I don’t really know how productive he would be as a regular player. But, you are right about the way he was treated. When you think about it, Andre was almost in the some position, when Joe was playing Juan.

Thanks for all the great posts and hard work, Josh. Love reading your blog daily. As for 2009, if I’m the GM…

1. Re-sign Manny. Manny’s impact on the team, the fans and the city was nothing like we’ve seen around L.A. since Fernandomania in the early 80s. Even at his age, if he puts up anything near his career averages, his bat would still be worth it at the back end of a possible 4-year deal. Give him the 4 @ $100MM.

2. Re-Sign Furcal. Everything I’ve read since the start of the season, and even in recent days, suggest there is a mutual interest to have him back in Blue. Furcal is the spark at the top of the lineup the Dodgers sorely missed while he was out with the back injury. Because of that, take precautionary measures and give him a heavy incentive-laden one year deal, perhaps with an option year or kick-ins that make a second year guaranteed.

3. Sign AJ Burnett (assuming he opts out of his final year in Toronto). I know he’s had his history of injuries, but after CC Sabathia (who would be too costly after re-signing Manny – word is he’ll command a Barry Zito-like contract), Burnett is the next best SP on the market, and he probably won’t command the kind of deal CC would. His ’08 season in Toronto indicates he’s healthy and can be trusted to provide the 200 innings pitched left behind by D-Lowe.

Potential ’09 rotation: Burnett, Bills, Kuroda, Kershaw, McDonald.

4. Move DeWitt back to 3B and sign Orlando Hudson. O-Dog is one of those “feisty” type gamers the Yankees used to sign or trade for that helped them win 4 World Series from 96 to 2000. The offense needs some more spunk at the top of the order and a true #2 guy. Hudson is only 31 and probably could be had at fair market value for about three years.

5. Let everyone else walk, and make an effort to trade Pierre. The only two other Dodger free agents I’d consider keeping are Nomar (if he can be convinced to be a utility infield reserve and primary righty off the bench) and Chan Ho Park. CHP showed he’s still got some game and was solid out of the pen all season.

6. Give the closer’s job to Broxton outright and give the setup role to Wade and Kuo. The only way Broxton is ever going be able to have confidence in himself is if the team has confidence in him. That’s not to say they haven’t had confidence in Broxton, but giving him the job only because Saito was hurt makes it look like they were forced to give him the job. Saito’s going to be 38 anyway, and he didn’t look sharp at all this year.

With only one year left on their contracts, I wouldn’t do much with Andruw or Schmidt. Maybe the Dodgers get lucky and they get SOMETHING out of either one.

Good evening. How’s everyone? I’ve been messing around with my DS, got a Japanese learning program to help me keep from losing my Japanese knowledge from the last 3 years (with one full Japanese-less year inbetween).

Plus, my girlfriend just got her long-awaited copy of Sims 2, so I’ve been finding non-computer activities the last few hours.

Good Evening nsblues!! Just hanging around, playing games on the computer, and do a few report cards. So, I am doing a little of everything right now. That’s great you are keeping up with your Japanese. The asian languages are just as important to learn as Spanish for the US now a days. My sister-in-law travels to China and Hong Kong all the time, and has picked up the languages too. She is from Poland and already knows Polish, German and French.

Cool, I want to learn a lot of languages eventually, but Italian gave me trouble. I did good in Spanish 1, but I could never do too well in Spanish 2 for some reason. in Japanese, I went up to Japanese 3. not anywhere near fluent in any of those, though, sometimes I have a hard enough time understanding my first language, heheheh.

Not surprising for a language that started off Germanic, then got spliced with Scandanavian when the Norse invaded, then to confuse everyone, William of Normandy/the Conquerer threw French into the pot, and voila! Modern English.

LOL!!!!! I tell you, having to teach all the rules of the english language is hard. It’s not necessarily the rule itelf, it’s all the deviations from the rule that become “Hell if I know moments” We call all the words that don’t follow the normal rule of english language “Brat Words.” The are words that don’t behave and follow the rules (ex. “have”, “once”, “done” to name a very few)

Yeah Nelly, nothing makes sense, if two of a tooth is teeth, then why is two of a booth booths? and comb, bomb, tomb are all pronounced different, but spelled with the same ending… enough to give me headaches in a few classes.

Im more of a between the chaulk guy.
I enjoy the excitment of the fans, the feeling of bieng in a ballpark.
And rooting for the greatest baseball team in the world!
GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Josh, for the fine job you do and for the opportunity to comment. The biggest thing that our GM needs to do is REMEMBER THE TAMPA BAY RAYS! They did what many of us have urged the Dodgers to do – go with the young players and forget the big-salaried vets and free agents. Now they have a division title to support that philosophy without the huge salary baggage that the Dodgers have. It is also interesting to note that Dodger castoffs were instrumental in the success of both the Rays and the Phillies, while the Dodgers have nothing to show for those players. Bad judgment has plagued Dodger management in recent years. I hope someone has learned from it and doesn’t add to it again. Werth hit more HRs (24) than any Dodger. Jackson had more victories (14) than any Dodger pitcher except Lowe (14) and Billingsley (16). Aybar, Navarro, Victorino all played key roles for their teams. And so it goes.

As for Manny, he was a huge help to propel the Dodgers to the playoffs. But he was necessary only because of the poor decisions by Ned and Joe in blocking the young players with veterans for so long. Although Manny did produce, there were times on defense and running the bases where he was a detriment. I remember one key game when he didn’t score from 1st on a two out double to deep CF that probably cost the game. At his age, he will only get worse in these areas. And remember we saw him at his very best, motivated by the huge free agent contract he is seeking. Once he signs a multi-year contract, that incentive is gone and with his age, results will no doubt be different. I would only sign him to a 2 year contract at most, but even that may not be in the Dodgers best interests. Young could probably do a reasonable job in LF if he were given the chance, and at a MUCH cheaper cost. Jones and Pierre should definitely be moved during the off-season. Both will just provide more of the same problems if they’re retained.

Veteran experience isn’t all that Ned and Joe think it is. Let’s go with the young players and develop the team chemistry that is so important to winning. And if anyone needs proof that kids can do the job, how much experience did David Price have when he struck out Drew with the bases loaded and then finished off the Red Sox for the League championship?

Well, well, well, Redfox.. it is always a pleasure seeing you on ITD again, and I must say I loved your comments. You are very correct in the fact that many of us wanted to play the young core, regardless of outcome, because we knew this was a dynasty waiting to happen.

I’ve read all your comments to date, and I can’t really add anything new to the mix, except to say that I really DO NOT want to see Jason Schmidt, Andruw Jones, Brad Penny, Mark Sweeney, and Juan Pierre wearing Dodger uniforms next year.

I would like the team to resign Furcal to an incentive laden deal and keep the core group of kids [Martin, Loney, Kemp, Ethier, Kershaw, McDonald ] while adding another starting pitcher like CC or Peavy. Having learned from the experience of Jones and Schmidt, I hope the Dodgers will get a more qualified team of physicians to examine and vet any possible free agents. Stan Conte and his med school buddy Dr. Nick, have failed us miserably.🙂 I don’t expect to see Manny back in Dodger blue in ’09 so I hope we’ll go after a young FA OF who can help with the bat and the glove.

Additionally, if Jeff Kent and/or Nomar Garciaparra decide to retire, [and I hope they wil] the organization should plan major tributes to both players at separate home games during the 2009 season, so fans can salute their individual careers and contributions to the Dodgers. Both men deserve a better send off than what happened last week.

It was a very good season, almost a great season. I’m very proud of our team and I think the kids will grow and learn from this experience. I’m also very excited about the good things that can happen for the team during the off-season, although I believe the team’s espirt de corps would be better served with Logan White as the GM instead of Ned Colletti. Go Dodgers!!! Go ITD!!

Okay if I was the GM I would do the following.
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#1-Attempt to get Hersh as the pitching coach.
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#2-There is a report that Bowa is leaving. So if he does I would attempt to get Gibby on board as a hitting instructor/3rd base coach.
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#3-I also like Fuentes as the closer with Brox setting up. Brox hasn’t shown me that he can pitch as opposed to just throw (As CP mentioned earlier). He just tries to throw the ball harder than the last pitch. He needs to improve his location as well as get used to throwing his slider.
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#4-(Plan A) Go after Manny & CC. Which ever one I sign first than that’s it. I go back & forth on who I would prefer. Manny I would offer a 4 year contract @$100 Mill. with a 5th year option. CC would be 5 year @$130 Mill with a 6th year option. .
(Plan B) Go after Burrell & Burnett. Whoever I don’t get in plan A then on to plan B.
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I really don’t like long term contracts for pitchers. Especially when they are overweight. Manny is older but he is in great shape. He is known to work out hard. So I would be okay with a 4-5 year contract. 40 is the new 30!! Remember Bonds played into his 40’s and many other players are playing longer and later due to better diet, nutrition, and working out. Most of these guys have their own cooks so they don’t have to rush through the drive thru on the way to work like we do. I don’t think Schmidt will pitch for us, so he isn’t part of the plan. If he does then bonus.
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#5-Resign Nomar to be the super sub we had hoped would be this last season.
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#6-Resign Ferk to a 2 year incentive laden contract.
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#7-Good bye to the rest of the Free Agents.
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#8-Buy out Penny.
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#9-(Plan A) Move DeMitt back to 3rd and go after Hudson.
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(Plan B) Keep DeMitt @ 2nd and go after Beltre.
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#10-Trade Pierre for whatever the best offer is for him. He does have value for some team that needs a leadoff hitter.
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#11-Give DY 1 position to focus on now so he can work on it now and be ready for spring training. I’m thinking OF.
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#12-Do everything I can to salvage Jones. I don’t think they can trade him and I don’t think they will cut 18+ million dollars. So do everything to salvage him. Hire Dr. Phil if I have to!!
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#13-Find a back up catcher who can throw the ball to me at the meeting!!!
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#14-Fire Stan Conte and apologize to the old training staff and if possible rehire them or find a suitable replacement (We have joked about it this year but it really is a joke the way some of these injury’s happened & carried on).
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This is also with a plan on looking towards the future.
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That is why I would bring Hersh & Gibby into the fold. To have one of them take over as a Manager. Unless Sosc leaves the Anaheim Angels when his contract is up. Then I would go after him with the other 2 on board.
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The Minor Leagues I’d have Hu, DeJesus, Paul, Elbert, Mcdonald ready & in the wings ) unless one or more of them are traded for Beltre). I also think Lucas May is our next catcher in line to move on up. I didn’t hear much about him after spring training but he looked good when I saw him. If he looks good in the minors and proves he can play then we could move Russ to 3rd in 2010 and have May catch.
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Of course I’m pretty clueless with most of this and don’t know all the ins & outs of the business but those are ideas and the PLAN I would have. At this time I’m not positive of all the Free Agents and players going into their final years of their contracts. I also would have a PLAN A, & Plan B, & Plan C, & PLAN D. That way if something doesn’t work out I’ve got a fall back so I don’t do signings like Pierre.
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That’s it so far as I’ve got to turn down the lights. But that is the start I would work on.

I just looked at May and he didn’t hit all that well this year in AA, however I think he’s going to the Arizona Fall League. So that seems to be an indication that the Dodgers are targeting him to move on up.

Hi Josh, thank you for keeping us up to date all season and aren’t we fans all proud of what the Dodger organization accomplished this year. This includes the McCourts and Think Cure. I don’t usually get involved in any of the rumors but when they get reported in Sports Illustrated I tend to take notice. What is it about Russell’s makeup that the organization doesn’t like? It seems that Manny, Russell and Andre were the most popular players this past season. Trading Russell or Andre would be extremely unpopular among the fans. It may not be possible to get Manny so if Russell is traded, get ready for many unhappy fans. That’s just IMO. 😦

I see it’s a little quiet here this morning, I guess we better get used to that.

Beav, if Ned’s idea was to get ideas (not too far-fetched), we’ve certainly given him a few. A lot of nice back-and-forth, everyone!

Just a couple of observations before I go back to work:

Everything I’ve seen from Nomar this season would leave me to believe that he would have no problem with the super-sub idea. He’s been the consumate team player since he’s been here. I don’t recall any grumbling whatsoever from him, no matter what he’s been asked to do – 1B, 3B, SS, PH, bench. And I think he’s more aware than anyone of his body’s limitations in the last few years. Of course he wants to start. Who doesn’t? But, at least in public, he’s never had a bad attitude. And he’ll still produce on occasion.

There’s been a lot of talk about DY here, and I like him too. But I just don’t think he shows enough pop for a corner OF. What happened to his 2B career? He played a lot of it in the minors, and though he was making a lot of errors, his fielding % got better every season.
’03 – .942 at South Georgia (A)
’04 – .951 at Vero (A+)
’05 – .965 at Jax and .980 at Vegas.http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=15922
Then he just stopped playing second and moved to the OF. If I missed something, I’m sorry. Unless there’s a really good reason, I’d give him a good shot there.

DeWitt seems to have potential for decent pop at third and I’d have no problem going to ST with him there.

I still think this Martin thing is more NY writer BS. I wouldn’t move Russ nor would I trade him. He’s the man. He should leave ST with a “C” on his uni, just like Varitek does. He just needs to be rested more during the season. Repeat – RESTED MORE DURING THE SEASON!!! And that doesn’t mean playing him at third. It means REST, whether he likes it or not. He’s not a big man and he’s going to wear down.
Career BA by month
March/April .303
May .306
June .292
July .292
August .263
Sept/Oct .260http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/bsplit.cgi?n1=martiru01&year=c
I know, I know – catcher. No brainer (you’d think).
Plus, he needs to work on getting his throws to the first base side of second. His arm strength is good and his footwork seems to be OK. It’s his accuracy that he needs to work on.

Last thing, I know Manny wants 6-7 years. I know CC wants 6 – 7 years. Andruw wanted it too and no one offered it. Maybe, just maybe – the market won’t be there for the long term contracts that everyone is talking about for the same reasons we’ve talked here – Manny’s age and the Zito Effect.

As I look back at the ’88 club, maybe we should let Manny go his separate way and invest in pitching as some of you have said. Except for Kirk Gibson, who really didn’t do much more than Ethier or Kemp or Loney statistically, the non pitchers on that team were pretty pathetic. I just don’t want to see Pierre leading off or Sweeney pinch hitting.

Highlights from ’88:

1b Stubbs – LOL
ss Griffin – LOL
3b Hamilton – LOL

But the pitching was awesome.

Maybe great pitching and no Manny will drive away the riff raff from Dodger Stadium too — OR maybe just maybe Frank McCourt will man up and expand security and kick these losers out that have ruined the great Dodger family experience.

Good morning Nellyae & Enchanted ~ There is a lot of truth in the fact of a recession and the very real possibilities that the teams won’t pay the big bucks for these players. I remember Peter Gammons saying that quite a while ago. With the cost of going to a game, I really do think you will see a drop in attendance and many teams will suffer. So, players represented by Boras might have to “suck it up”.

enchanted, I’m a huge fan of old-time baseball. And I like the trend to the old-time ballparks. I don’t think going back to the advertising on the walls would bother me at all, they all used to do it. Plus, I’m a NASCAR fan!🙂

The Rays had better enjoy their success. They’ll not be able to hang on to most of those guys, I’m sad to say.

Scott, the problems with the gang-bangers in DS have pre-dated Manny by several years.

scott@whittiermailing.com… you brought up an interesting point regarding the comparisons with the 88 team and that pitching was the focal point of that team. the difference in the everyday lineup is that one was a more balanced veteran lineup compared to this team. stubbs and hamilton were really the only two “kids” on of the regulars. scioscia, sax, griffin, the entire OF (gibby, shelby, marshall) were all seasoned vets. thats what this teams was missing, so-to-speak, and the learning experience this year, much like the phillies last year, should help guys like martin, loney, dewitt, kemp and ethier next season, with or without manny, in the future. as for the pitching, this team had/has (assuming they can replace d-lowe with a quality, experienced veteran) the pitching to do something special. but the lack of veteran experience outside two or three guys was the difference. (i don’t know if playing kent or nomar more often would have made much of a difference either, considering there really wasnt anywhere for nomar to play, and kent was still hurt.)

It would take a totally different mindset for Frank to totally commit to youth and struggle for a year or two waiting for them to mature, though I’m sure he’d still see 3 milllion at the turnstiles regardless. Paradoxically he’d actually turn a higher profit than with big names. The biggest difference though between LA and places like TB, FLA and MIL is that Frank would have the money to retain the players once they hit arbitration/free agency. Then we’re talking old fashioned one-team in a career ballplayers like the O’Malley era.

Good morning ITD boys and girls,
Okay, I’ve already given my ideas on the “if I was the GM of the team” question.

Scott – You were asking about the opinion of Honeycutt. For me, it’s not that I don’t like Honeycutt, but the thought of Greg Maddux being a player/coach excites me a great deal better. I think having Greg Maddux on our team as a player/coach would attract attractive suitors. I firmly believe that there is a reason why the Dodgers are one of Peavy’s choices to waive his no-trade clause. That’s because he and Maddux were close in SD, and I think Peavy would LOVE to be reunited with Maddux. And on a similar note, I think Maddux would be able to help our young pitchers (Billz, Kersh, McDonald) the same way he helped Peavy with the Cy Young in 2007.

Dodgrdog88, The problem is there’s no one close to Hershiser on this year’s team. Gibson was the motor for that team all year as well. Players played hard or they’d have to answer to Gibby. Things are different now. Soft premadonnas for the most part.

Side note:

I just read that DY had the 4th most PH this season in all of baseball. But Ozona made the roster over him? Could have used DY instead of crippled Nomar swinging at sliders in the dirt.

I’ve never been impressed with Honeycutt. Down. I can’t stand it when we get ahead of a hitter and start nibbling until the count is full. Fine, toss that 0-2 pitch 6 inches out of the zone and see if they’ll chase it. If they don’t, go after ’em! If he’s got anything to do with all those full count ‘hit me’ pitches, thumbs way down.

And ‘lest we forget, we caught lightning in a bottle (riding Gibson and Hershiser) in ’88. We finished 5th in ’86 and 4th in ’87. We didn’t win the division again until ’94, finishing 4th, 2nd, 2nd, 6th (last for the 1st time in a CENTURY!), and 4th in the 5 years between ’88 and ’94. We weren’t exactly a powerhouse in that era. I hope us to be a real force for a while now.

Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Dodgers. Their likely 2009 commitments are below. Remember, this is not a projection of the actual ’09 roster. I use only internal candidates here as a way of showing depth and needs.

That’s about $59MM committed, plus arbitration raises for Martin, Ethier, Saito, Broxton, Proctor, and Brazoban. A few of those guys figure to be non-tendered (Berroa for sure), but raises could push the Dodgers close to $70MM. The Dodgers entered the ’08 season with a $118MM payroll, so theoretically Ned Colletti could have $48MM to spend (more than any team, as far as I can tell). Makes sense, since the Dodgers have the most free agents.

First issue: Manny Ramirez. I can’t see the Dodgers (or any team, really) stretching beyond four years, $85MM or so. Just a few months ago I wouldn’t have thought Manny could get four years. Will Scott Boras ultimately be reasonable, or will he stick to the “iconic” talk and aim for a contract well beyond $100MM?

As far as clearing the salaries of Pierre or Jones, I don’t see it happening. Of course, it’s worth exploring what, if any, bad contracts might be offered in return. Elsewhere on the trade front, dealing Martin seems unlikely. Any replacement would be a downgrade.

The Dodgers need to address the left side of their infield; it could be considered more crucial than the Manny situation. Interest is mutual with Rafael Furcal, and he’s the best available option. A return of Adrian Beltre would be intriguing at third base; otherwise options like Casey Blake and Joe Crede can be considered.

It’s unclear whether Penny will be back, but Derek Lowe is expected to sign elsewhere. The Dodgers may have two open rotation spots. The big names are legitimate options – Jake Peavy and C.C. Sabathia. The Dodgers will have the money for Sabathia, especially if Manny signs elsewhere. The Dodgers may not get either ace, but they seem likely to sign a veteran starter (Randy Johnson could work).

The back end of the bullpen looks pretty good (Broxton/Kuo/Wade). Colletti will still probably consider signing Joe Beimel and/or Chan Ho Park, or other veterans of that nature.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned an incident that happened when I made the trek down to Dodger Stadium to watch a couple of games. To preface this I work in the security field and deal with tough situations on a daily basis. Both verbally as well as physically. I’ve been a bouncer at night clubs as well. I generally know how to talk with people (I’m better in person than this blogging. Still getting used to it!).
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My story is Wifey and I go to the Saturday night game (10/20) against the Giants. I’m so pumped to be going to a game at Dodger Stadium after all of my years going to games up here In Nor Cal against the Giants I was pumped to root for the home team and against the Giants.
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I mean you have no idea how excited I am (Well maybe you do!)!!
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I paint my face blue. I’m wearing my Dodger cap and Jersey as is Wifey.
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I buy my seats from Stub Hub in Field Level Section 45 row D. Ticket price is $40.00 each. When all is said & done with processing fees etc, I paid about $120.00 for the 2 seats.
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We get there early when the gates open to take in batting practice. I always get there early.
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So were at the game and enjoying it. But in our section, it is non stop beach balls. I mean every inning from the get go. I mainly ignore them but I can’t see the game as so many people are standing up in front of me looking back screaming for the ball (Hasn’t anyone ever seen a beach ball before?). I mean you’d think they were throwing money around!
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During this time there is a Giants fan in front of me and 2 sitting in the row behind me to my right. After a few innings the one in front of me isn’t being bothered to much but the 2 guys sitting behind me are just getting slammed. Not just boos. Peanuts, beer, and anything else that people could throw. They were just sitting there. They hadn’t been obnoxious or rubbing in anything. They had just been sitting there. This one big guy keeps standing up and turning around and flipping them off and saying **** the Giants. His buddy is standing the whole game and continually is screaming **** the Giants and anytime something goes well or doesn’t gives the bird.
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So somewhere during this time there is this guy in about his 50’s with his mother in her 80’s and son in his early 20’s, and a beach ball falls in his lap and he takes out his keys and pops it. I’m like, “You’re my kind of guy! I hate the beach balls!”.
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So as the game continues whenever a beach ball lands on me I give it to them & they pop it. I don’t go out of my way but if one lands on me it goes to them. Of course people were booing. I thought it was kind of funny and didn’t realize that my and Wifey’s safety was in danger. I really didn’t think it was such a big deal until some of the thugs behind me started to threaten us. This one guy is yelling that we are ruining “the kids fun”. Well I’m all about kids having fun at the game but it’s the adults that are doing most of the “beach balling.
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So this one guy is standing up 2 rows behind us throwing things at us. We ignore him. The whole row behind us ends up leaving after an inning. It’s now around the 7th inning. This dude is still threatening to “punk” us. We’ve since stopped confiscating the beach balls.
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So the picture is of this.
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Numerous people standing up in front of me looking back towards the various beach balls bouncing around & screaming “hit it here”. Dude standing yelling **** the Giants while bouncing up and down doing his little dance and continues to flip off anyone who is a Giants fan as well as towards the field. Of course he has a couple of under 10 year old kids in tow. Meanwhile beer is being thrown at the Giants fan behind us a few seats over and were having peanuts & other food items thrown at us while being told were going to be “punked” & “were going to get it”.
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Ahhhh what a great night at Dodger Stadium. I’m sure glad I paid $200.00 for tickets food & parking! I can’t wait to come back tomorrow!!!
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It gets worse.
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Thug behind us keeps calling for someone to toss him a beach ball so he can get us. Of course he obtains one and spikes it at us from about 3 feet away. It goes in between Wifey & the 20 year old kid. I turn to the kid and we agree that there was a cause to the wayward beach ball.
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So Thug’s upset that he has poor aim he obtains another ball and this time pops Wifey in the side of the face. Now I know a beach ball isn’t a hard item but spiked into your face from about 3 feet away isn’t a pleasant experience. And Wifey is the kindest, most gentle person I’ve know. I mean she really is. My family is always telling me how lucky I am to of met her!!
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I jump and and start telling him enough and to sit down and watch the game. That were all good and to let it go. Well of course he has about 10 of his shaved headed, tattooed, gottee’d up friends come climbing down the rows ready and wanting to “throw down” & “let’s go” along with all the wonderful names being called to me.
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This is when security decides to show up. All 2 of them. We’re all telling what’s going on and they (Security) tell me to sit down and just ignore them. They are all drunk and swearing at us. I ask the security guy isn’t this a no tolerance stadium. He says yes. I’m like well listen to them they are all swearing at us they need to go. He again tells me to sit down and he’ll take care of it. So I sit down and “ignore” them. A few minutes later the security guy taps me on the shoulder and says everyone is okay just ignore them and they’ll be cool. He also says you know “it was just a beach ball” while referring to Wifey being hit. So I ignore them.
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Well it is hard to watch a game when your being called out to behind your back wondering if & when your going to be jumped. I should of just left but I’m a stubborn guy that doesn’t want them to “win” the stadium. They should be the ones to go. They are drunk and swearing left & right. So who is ruining it for the kids???
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Wifey is like I’m scared can we go? So we were getting ready to pack up and go when finally I hear the 50 year old guy yell, “That’s it! I’m with my mother” and he jumps up and climbs over our aisle (This guy wasn’t small and he probably could of taken out 2-3 on his own but there were probably about 10 or more that were ready to jump in). I jumped up and over the row and in between him and them and was yelling at him that it’s not worth it and pushing him back all the while having them swearing at me/us and getting all huffed up.
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So security shows up. Then a few more guards show up as well & after a few minutes some police. They escort 8 of them from the stadium. But the main culprit is still behind us and they leave him and a couple of his buddies.
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So we end up leaving in the 8th inning. I never leave a game early!!! I ask for an escort to our cars because I know there are 8 guys outside the stadium that are going to want to throw down and I know they don’t fight fair. 1 vs 8 would be fair to them.
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So I ask myself, do I ever want to go to a Dodger game again. Do I really want to support this team when they don’t have enough security in the stands to stop the problems. When I go to the LA area am I know going to go to Angels games instead of Dodger games?
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Let’s put it this way it really darkened a vacation trip for us. Wifey & I both weren’t going to go the next day even though I already had tickets to the game. I told her we would go and then leave at the 1st sign of trouble. I felt it was a Sunday day game so maybe they would all be hung over and not make it there.
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This is just my experience but I don’t think it’s unusual. All night it was nothing but fights in the stands from what I saw. Also when we went last year we saw many things going on that were pretty bad and heard nothing but foul language and taunts of the Rockies fans.
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I’m sorry that this is so long. I’ve thought about not posting it but after the conversation regarding the issue I wanted to bring my incident up. I’m still very discouraged about what happened and not sure if I’ll make any games next year. But it’s like after 911 (Not to make 911 this small). I wanted to fly to show I wasn’t scared. I don’t want to not go to games and be another good customer and fan. My not going adds to the percentage of bad fans that are there. These guys are there to do one thing… fight.
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McCourt can put his Green Chain all he wants but it’ll not make anything nicer there if he doesn’t hire enough security, properly train them & when at the first sign they see people giving the bird, acting up, or swearing and being general huligan’s, kick them out he’ll be losing this lifelong Dodger fan and I’ll be sen in Angel stadium not Dodger Stadium.

I agree with Joe Torre that pitching needs to be “front and center.” Without it, the Dodgers cannot expect to advance very far in the playoffs. With a good solid front end to your rotation, you can go a long way. Remember what happened when the Red Sox added Curt Schilling in 2004? That gave them a starting rotation which featuring two aces – two aces who could theoretically pitch four of five Division Series games and five of seven in the other two series.

The Dodgers need at least one ace-type pitcher and two would be even better. C.C. Sabathia would be great but Jake Peavy would be even better, because not only would the Dodgers get an outstanding pitcher but a pitcher they wouldn’t have to face anymore. Both would be awesome!!

It would be nice to get Manny back but he will be expensive. If the Dodgers can fill their pitching needs as well as the other holes in the lineup, then he is obviously worth it. I’m curious as to what the Dodgers will do this offseason.

I heard a lot of talk (especially on Dan Patrick’s radio program) about the Dodgers keeping Manny or taking CC Sabathia.

I take Manny. As solid a pitcher as CC is, he can only produce 1 out of every 5 days. Manny produced consistently for the Dodgers day in and day out. I don’t think Manny’s numbers measure his success in LA, but rather his ability to revitalize a young team and give them the confidence to battle their way into the NLCS.

Re-sign Manny, keep developing the bullpen and maybe find one more solid starter. I don’t know Penny or Schmidt will look in 5 months from now, but another starter would do wonders for the inevitable success of a very talented Dodgers team.

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